Swedish Christmas Books - a Gift Guide for Kids
Welcome to my curated list of Swedish children’s books that you can get hold of from abroad.
Some of the books are available in Swedish, some are bilingual, and a few are only available in English.
But most importantly - they’re here to bring a little bit of Sweden home to you and your kids this Christmas - wherever you might be.
[This post includes affiliate links and if you buy something through one of those links you won’t pay a penny more, but we’ll get a small commission which helps keep the lights on. Thanks!]
The Yule tomte and the little rabbits by Ulf Stark is a gorgeous chapter book that is the perfect read leading up to Christmas. It's for 5-8 year olds but the younger kids will probably still enjoy the pictures. I can't wait to share this one with our little boy when he's just a little older! The story is told in 25 chapters, perfect for advent. It's available on Amazon and here's the link to the Amazon US store, and here’s the link to the book on Amazon UK.
The Tomte’s Christmas porridge by Sven Nordqvist is a great story about what happens when you forget to give your Tomte (Gårdstomte /farm gnome) the traditional Christmas porridge. It’s for 4-7 year olds and the pictures are beautiful (who doesn’t love Sven’s illustrations?) and really gives a glimpse into the Swedish Christmas celebrations. The book is in English and you can find it on Amazon USA here, and in the UK here.
’Tomten Räddar Julen - Tomten Saves Christmas’ by me, Linda Liebrand is a book about the Swedish gårdstomten (farm gnome) for kids and grown ups aged 4+. I wrote this book as a fun way to help explain what the difference is between the Swedish farm gnome Tomten and his world-famous ‘cousin’ Santa. The illustrations are adorable and the book is available in Swedish, English and in a special Swedish/English bilingual edition.
’Tomten Tales’ by Astrid Lindgren is a collector's edition of Astrid's classic Tomten tales 'The Tomten' and 'The Tomten and the fox'. It’s an absolutely gorgeous book for 5-8 year olds, and although it's in English its about as Swedish as you can get, so it's a perfect winter read when you're celebrating Christmas away from Sweden. Here's the link to the US Amazon store, and it’s also available on Amazon UK.
Lucia morning in Sweden by Ewa Rydåker, and the counting book Tomtens jul - Tomten’s Christmas by Linda Liebrand
'Lucia Morning in Sweden' by Ewa Rydåker is great for kids aged 4 and up, the illustrations are lovely and it really gives a good flavour of the Swedish Lucia celebrations. It's in English, but still great for learning about Swedish culture and traditions. Available on Amazon worldwide. Here's the link to the US Amazon store, and this is where you can get it in the UK on Amazon.
Santa’s Christmas - Tomtens Jul by me, Linda Liebrand, is a bilingual Christmas book for the youngest children. It’s a fun counting book that introduces kids to typically Swedish Christmas traditions such as julbocken (the yule goat), adventsljusstake (advent candle stick), Lucia and Lussekatter (saffron buns).
All pictures and numbers are labelled in both English and Swedish making this a perfect gift for the bilingual family, or kids learning Swedish. You can find the book on Amazon US here, and if you’re in the UK you can find it using this link. (affiliate links)
Just a few examples of the colouring pages from ‘Tomten and Friends - Tomten med vänner’ by Linda Liebrand
‘Tomten and Friends - Tomten med Vänner’ by me, Linda Liebrand is an adorable colouring book with bilingual text in Swedish and English for kids aged 3+. Creating this book was such a delight - I just adore the whimsical Tomten images and I can't wait to share this book with my own little boy this Christmas. You can find it in paperback on Amazon UK, and Amazon USA as well as in a convenient printable PDF format over in the Swenglish Life Shop.
‘Swedish Christmas A-Z’ by Kathy Bernstrom is a fun 'pysselbok'/activity book for the whole family. Learn how to make everything from 'ischoklad', to 'julgranskarameller' to 'islyktor' and more. The book is printed in black and white and the illustrations give the book a homemade charm, and there's plenty of colouring in opportunities. The book is in English.
Here's the UK Amazon link and here’s the link to the book on Amazon USA .
If you can think of any other books about the Swedish Christmas that are easy to get hold of from abroad, then please leave a comment below so other parents can find them too! :)
